“I do not know why it is said in the Genesis that Babel signifies confusion, for Ba signifies father in the Oriental tongues, and Bel signifies God; Babel signifies the city of God, the holy city. The Ancients gave this name to all their capitals. But it is incontestable that Babel means confusion, either because the architects were confounded after having raised their work up to eighty-one thousand Jewish feet, or because the tongues were then confounded; and it is obviously from that time on that the Germans no longer understand Chinese; for it is clear, according to the scholar Bochart, that Chinese is originally the same tongue as High German.” -Voltaire

With our world getting smaller, due in some part to the internet. The ability to communicate with people with different languages is still somewhat a hurdle. Here is where Live Mocha comes in. It is the first online community to learn new languages. The site has video, audio and self-paced lessons to learn a new language. Here is the twist. You meet other people with the same goals, or people from that country with that particular language. You can get tips, or even have conversations to get better at the language you are studying. Right now you can learn German, English, Chinese, Hindi, French and Spanish.

I just found out about this cool site called Couchsurfing.com. The concept is simple. If you are travelling somewhere in the world and you looking for some friendly accomadations you go to site an search for someone in the area you going to and contact that person to make arrangements. It is free, but the most important thing is the ability to bridge cultures and meet new people from all over the world. I think I might give it a try this summer. If I do, I will let you know. Oh yeah you can offer your space for a traveller as well.